My
dad, Merl Short, shows off a largemouth bass caught on his farm in Alabama.

Y2K
in Review: A Bittersweet Year

You
have to admit, moving into Y2K was unlike moving into any other year.
It was the evening of December 31, 1999, and we were sitting around the
table, just our family and our old friend Ron Mueller, just reflecting
on all the hype and speculation about what was about to happen. Power
shortages, computers crashing, telecommunications failures, civil services
in disarray, stock markets crashing ... there was no end to speculation.
Like everyone else we knew, we had put a little extra canned food in the
cupboard and made sure we had batteries and spending money on hand. It
was kind of exciting, really, not knowing the next curveball that might
be thrown at you.

In
hindsight, of course, it was all a bunch of hooey. No computers crashed,
no planes came tumbling from the sky, entire cities weren't plunged into
darkness. Life went on.

For such
a banner year, 2000 now seems extremely ... well, ordinary. The kids continued
to grow, we had our usual bouts with the common cold, and we made small steps
of progress in our jobs. It was a great year for our church (we dug ourselves
out of a financial hole); the kids for the most part got good grades in school;
and the flowers came up in the springtime, just like usual.

There are
other things about this year that will make it memorable for me personally.
My mom had been struggling with breast cancer for several years, and in October
the cancer won the battle. It was the first time I had ever lost anyone that
important to me, and I learned a great deal about how important it is to be
at peace with people and with God.

I don't
think I ever really realized before how fundamentally pivotal your relationship
with your parents really is. At my mom's "wake" (a rather strange
tradition in the Deep South where friends and family spend several hours socializing
in a room with your dear departed loved one laying silently in a casket in the
middle of all the chatter, as quietly oblivious as a coffee table), one of her
friends was telling me that in the four years he had known my mom, he had never
heard her say anything negative about anyone. I started to say, "In the
43 years I've known her, I don't think I've heard her say anything negative
about anyone either ..." when I was suddenly struck dumb by what I had
just said. Forty-three years? For a 43-year-old, that's a heck of a long time.
It might as well be an eternity. All the sudden, that history with my mother
was coming to an end (or at least an interruption). From here on out, I would
have thoughts spring into my mind which I would suddenly want to share with
her ... but she has moved on, so what would I do with those insights? Who could
I turn to? I don't know of anyone who really loved, was interested in, and encouraged
me in the same way as my mother did. I don't really know of anyone I could TRUST
in the same way.

I was very
grateful to the Lord that my mother's passing was relatively quick and merciful.
In late September, when her cancer was discovered in her liver, we learned that
the prognosis was not good. My dad said, "They are telling us that she
might have a year if she took more chemo, probably 3 months if she doesn't.
And she has decided not to take any more chemo." Of course we were stunned
by that. Three months? "Nonsense," my mom told us. She was a fighter
and was convinced she would beat it.

We would
have been far more stunned if we had known the truth, that within three weeks
she would slip the surly bonds of earth. Don and I had planned a trip out to
see her on October 24. On October 16 my dad called and said, "If you want
to see her alive you had better accelerate your plans. The hospice care nurses
are telling us she may not last the week." So on Wednesday afternoon, October
18, we caught the first flight we could find.

We had been
in the air about an hour and had probably just crossed over Washington's eastern
border with Idaho. It had been a terribly rushed morning, trying to tie up loose
ends at work so we could get on the plane and leave for a week. I distinctly
remember, after we finished a meal, looking over at my brother and seeing him
sleeping in the seat next to me, and thinking how peaceful he looked. All of
a sudden it was as if someone dimmed the lights in the room and one of those
Thomas Kinkade paintings jumped out at you in three dimensions. I felt utterly
"at home," filled with peace and rest. It was indescribable. I remember
just laying back and enjoying that feeling, and thinking, "Thank you Lord,
this is really neat. I guess you knew just how badly I needed this." Little
did I know that the Lord was preparing my spirit for the news that would greet
us as soon as we got off the plane, some five hours or so later, in Birmingham.

My father
was there, late at night, at the airport to greet us, along with a family friend
and our youngest brother, Lee. Though the meaning of my father's presence there
(he hadn't left my mom's side in weeks) didn't assert itself immediately onto
my consciousness, Don knew exactly what had happened, and so he was more prepared
than I was when Dad pulled us aside and told us, with tears in his eyes, that
Mom had gone to be with Jesus about five hours earlier. As far as I can tell,
that was about the same time I had the experience on the plane.

The next
week was a blur of preparations, sharing memories, celebrating our mom's life,
and a wonderful time of reunion with family. The outpouring of love and compassion
from my parents' church, from my colleagues at World Vision, and from my own
church meant an incredible amount to me. I enjoyed the week a great deal, despite
the circumstances; but I was eager to get home and be with my own family. Seeing
my dad, for the first time in my life, without my mom made me realize how much
I needed to treasure the time with my wife and children.

In the nearly
three months since my mom's passing, I have done a lot of reflection. I am grateful
that there was nothing unsaid or unforgiven between us. One of those things
that is simply priceless is being completely reconciled to those you love, so
that if they were ever to be taken unexpectedly away from you, you would not
have to live with remorse or regret.

Naturally,
I miss Mom a lot. Although I will probably get used to the feeling, I'm not
sure this will ever change. However, I was actually surprised by the strength
of my conviction that I will someday walk and talk with my mom again. Nothing
seems more natural or more true to me now than the fact that God is preparing
a place for those who love Him to be together for all eternity.

Perhaps
the one lesson learned this year above any others is that life is way too short.
Time is our most precious asset. It is a nonrenewable resource; to squander
it is to lose it forever. But time is not an enemy to those who are called beloved
by Him who transcends time, it is a friend. Our lives grow sweeter with the
passing of days, and when the final day comes when our number is called, we
will discover sweetness greater than we could ever hope or imagine.

It is my
prayer that everyone reading this shares this hope. It is a hope based in reality.
I can't imagine anything more sad than missing out on the central Truth of history,
the reason there is death and sorrow and tears and joy and love. Jesus said,
"I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life ... he who believes in Me, shall
have eternal life."

Family News

We
are grateful that the Lord has given us a wonderful year. Here are some of the
highlights.

NATHAN:
Last year he was working as a dishwasher at the "House of Kee," a
local Chinese restaurant. At the beginning of the summer he got a new job as
a cashier at "The Big K-Mart." He enjoys this job a lot, especially
working in the electronics department (he has a real knack for electronics,
especially computers). He puts in long, hard hours and is earning quite a bit
of cash, between K-Mart and trading computer parts online.

Nathan has
applied to Western Washington University, since he will graduate this spring
from Rogers High School. WWU, located up in Bellingham, has an excellent computer
science program, and Nathan has a good Christian friend, Isaac, who attends
there.

Nathan turned
18 on December 23. (It's hard to believe it's been that long since Christmas
morning, 1982, when we brought him home from the hospital in a huge red stocking!)

MANDY: Mandy
enjoyed traveling to California and Alabama this summer. In California, she
got to surf, skate, and sun with her Uncle Gary and Aunt Deborah. She dreams
about returning some day. In Alabama, she and her dad spent a week with Grandma
and Grandpa Short. At that time Grandma was even feeling well enough to be wheeled
around the farm on the back of the four-wheeler.

Mandy has
been actively involved in singing on the worship team at church with her mom
and dad, and also in the school choir. She does excellent in her studies and
enjoys good times with friends at church. She is also making a killing doing
babysitting for all the young families at church.

DARLENE:
Darlene continued her work as a school nurse for the Puyallup School District
this year, splitting her time between three different schools. She enjoys this
a lot, and especially likes being off for summers and extended holidays. When
not working, she kept busy shuttling Mandy and other kids in the youth group
at church around from place to place, singing on the worship team, and working
in the church nursery.

LARRY: Larry
is now working on his fourth boss (and fourth office) since beginning the Internet
program at World Vision almost four years ago. He now has three fulltime employees
reporting to him and several volunteers. The Internet program is generating
about $750,000 per month in revenue for World Vision, which makes for pretty
good job security. This year the program was expanded quite a bit and his role
focused on the creative/content production side of the program.

He is wrapping
up a one-year term as chairman of the elder board for Elim, and for the last
half of the year led one of three worship teams in the absence of a professional
worship leader. In the coming year, while remaining on the elder board, he hopes
to focus his efforts on improving church communications, primarily by continuing
to develop and promote the church website and Intranet. He also plans to take
two more MBA classes from Hope International University, and finish staining
our deckwork.